Anime Boston, the largest anime convention in New England, has announced Hirokatsu Kihara, Masahiko Minami, Cherami Leigh, and Christopher Sabat will appears as guests at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Mass, on March 31 through April 2, 2017.

Formerly involved with the production desk at Studio Ghibli, Hirokatsu Kihara worked closely with director Hayao Miyazaki on such hit titles as Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Hirokatsu Kihara is probably best known for his work in the Horror genre. There, he has been a crucial contributor, working on such titles as Tales of Terror: Haunted Apartment and Tales of Terror from Tokyo and All Over Japan, which are known in Japan as Shin Mimibukuro. In addition, he has written books such as Tsukumo Kwaidan, Utsushiyo-kaidan, and Kinkiro. Nowadays, he continues to write ghost stories, MCs at monster conventions, and shares his knowledge and experiences at events worldwide.

“We are so honored to have Hirokatsu Kihara at AnimeBoston. Kihara-san is a pioneer in the horror genre, as well as having worked on Studio Ghibli classics such as My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service, under Miyazaki himself,” said Victor Lee, Convention Chair.

Masahiko Minami was born on August 24, 1961 and is from the Mie Prefecture in Japan. After graduating from the Theater Arts Department of Osaka University of the Arts, he joined the anime production company Nihon Sunrise (now SUNRISE INC.) and produced several shows such as: Whirl Wind! Iron Leaguer, Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Escaflowne, and Cowboy Bebop.

In 1998, he decided to leave SUNRISE to start BONES INC., with animators Hiroshi Osaka and Toshihiro Kawamoto, where he now doubles as both the President and a Producer. Under BONES, he has produced Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Fullmetal Alchemist, Eureka Seven, My Hero Academia, Space Dandy, Mob Psycho 100, and many more!

“We are deeply honored to present Masahiko Minami at AnimeBoston. Minami-san has produced some of my personal favorites, such as Cowboy Bebop, RahXephon, and Full Metal Alchemist. As a founder and current president of BONES INC., Minami-san is one of the true giants of anime,” said Victor Lee, Convention Chairman.

Cherami Leigh has been in the industry for 20 years. She has been in over 75 commercials, and has worked on over 100 anime projects including: Lucy in Fairy Tail; Asuna in Sword Art Online; Road in D. Grayman; Lizzie in Black Butler; Mai in Ghost Hunt; and Patty in Soul Eater. Cherami has worked on over 20 video games, including Borderlands 2- in which she plays the popular DLC- Gaige. She voices Sailor Venus in Sailor Moon; Tome in Mob Psycho 100; Kudelia in Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans; Illia in RWBY; and Makoto in the upcoming Persona 5.

Cherami was recently announced to be playing Sarada in Boruto: Naruto The Movie, as well as multiple characters in Fire Emblem: Heroes. She is a series regular on the Sprout hit- Zou; a lead role in the animated feature Ribbit; has guest starred on Doc McStuffins; and plays Peanut Big Top in the La La Loopsy Girls. She starred in Shane Dawson’s Not Cool and the Starz Original Series The Chair. She appeared in the Emmy Award Winning Temple Grandin, as well as Friday Night Lights, The Deep End, Chase, Shameless, Bones, and Longmire to name a few.

“It’s always such a delight to host Cherami at AnimeBoston. I look forward to the pleasure of working with her and watching her interacting with her fans!” said Victor Lee, Convention Chair.

Christopher R. Sabat (@Chris24_Sabat on Twitter) has lived on a diet of Senzu Beans for over 15 years. As the Voice Director for Dragonball Z, the voice actor behind Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Mr. Popo, Korin, Burter, Shenron, Zarbon, Guru, and countless others, you could almost say he is the “voice” of Dragonball Z.

Father Tres in Trinity Blood; Braun in Steins;Gate; Giroro in Sgt. Frog; Pokémon: Black and White as TV announcer; Cliff (ep 46) Rundas in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption; Garterbelt in Panty and Stocking; Sakaki in Kenichi; Masa in My Bride is a Mermaid; Saito in Darker Than Black; Woerman in Attack on Titan; Alex D in Deus Ex: Invisible War; Captain Smiley & Star in Comic Jumper; and many others.

Most recently, he was cast in Psycho-Pass 2 as Sakuya Tougane; Hak in Yoma of the Dawn; and Batou in Ghost In The Shell: Arise.

Added Victor Lee, “Christopher is one of the most prolific talents in the anime industry, having both voiced and directed in some of the most famous titles in the medium. We can’t wait!”

About Anime Boston: With nearly 27,000 attendees in 2016, Anime Boston is an annual three-day Japanese animation convention held in Boston, Mass. Anime Boston 2017 is scheduled for Friday, March 31 through Sunday, April 2 at the Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton Boston Hotel. More information about Anime Boston can be found at www.animeboston.com.

About New England Anime Society, Inc.: The New England Anime Society was founded in 2001. Based in Massachusetts, The New England Anime Society, Inc. is parent organization of Anime Boston and is dedicated to furthering public education and understanding of the Japanese language and culture through visual and written media. More information about The New England Anime Society is available at www.neanime.org.

Tidewater Comiconhas announced their first guests for the 2016 convention on May 21st-22nd: Chris Claremont (Writer of Uncanny X-Men, Nightcrawler, New Mutants, Excalibur), John Wesley Shipp (star of The Flash, Dawson’s Creek), John De Lancie (Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Discord from My Little Pony, Breaking Bad) and Steve Blum (voice actor on Star Wars Rebels, The Legend of Korra, Wolverine and the X-Men, Cowboy Bebop, Transformers, and many more). For those seeking tables or more information please visit www.tidewatercomicon.com

The world-famous Hollywood Improv is proud to invite you to join Emmy and Annie award winner Rob Paulsen as he talks about his experiences in voice acting!

About Rob Paulsen:
Born in Detroit, Rob Paulsen spent his childhood in Livonia and Rochester, attending Junior and Senior high school in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Rob loved cartoons like most kids but aspired to be a professional hockey player. “Fortunately, thanks to some big, strong, kid from Winnipeg who drilled me so hard my ears are still ringing, I learned around age 18 I had neither the talent nor the temperament to make a living playing hockey. So, I turned to my other passions: singing and acting.”

The goal of bringing absolute believability to a fictional character, live-action or animated, is what every actor strives for. Those who are committed to their career and who combine experience, passion and skill are likely to succeed.

Those gifted with exceptional talent who focus on maximizing their potential by finding their own niche, quickly break away from the pack. After years of honing their craft and consistently delivering memorable performances in which the character impacts an indelible image on the viewer, the public and the industry take notice, singling out the best.

“I’m getting paid to do what I got in trouble for in the 7th grade,” jests Rob, who won a Daytime Emmy in 1999 as “Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program” for Pinky and The Brain (Warner Bros.) Though nominated twice previously, the victory was especially sweet due to some formidable competition – fellow nominees Louie Anderson, Ernest Borgnine, Dennis Franz and Jeffery Tambor. In addition to his Emmy, Rob won back-to-back Annie Awards in 1997 and 1998. “I absolutely love what I do and thank my lucky stars for twenty-five years of full-time employment in this business,” he says.

“It’s a treat to portray a complex character,” Rob explains about Pinky, a goof-ball mouse with funny teeth, a head filled with clouds and an inane imagination that is punctuated with a staccato laugh. “Besides … where else could I find a job where emotional outbursts and odd exclamations like ‘Egad!,’ ‘Narf!,’ ‘Poit!,’ ‘Splonk!,’ and ‘Zort!’ are allowed and in fact, encouraged?” With over 2,000 half-hours of animation to his credit, Rob’s versatility shines in his starring roles as the voices of Yakko, Pinky and Dr. Scratch ‘n’ Sniff in the Peabody and two-time Emmy award-winning series “Animaniacs.”

Some of Rob’s other well-known animated characters include Raphael of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Arthur in “The Tick,” the title role in “The Mask” (for a WHOLE lot less dough than Mr. Carrey, thank you), the title role in “Mighty Max,” Carl Wheezer in “Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius,” Jack Fenton in “Danny Phantom,” Bobble in the “Tinkerbell” series of DVDs and hopefully more to come.

Paulsen’s extensive credits include on-camera roles in numerous motion pictures including Body Double, Stewardess School, Eyes of Fire, The Perfect Match, and Warlocked. His television acting credits include guest-starring roles on MacGyver and St. Elsewhere. Additionally, he is one of the most sought-after voice actors in the commercial arena, performing in over 1000 commercial spots.

As passionate about “paying it forward” as he is about his lucrative career, Rob supports various charitable organizations, particularly those benefiting children and military veterans. Rob’s volunteer work with GOALmodels has been particularly rewarding. GOALmodels, a high school program in Reseda, California, is designed to inspire 9th graders to set goals and overcome obstacles in life. Blending his life experiences with passion for his work, his presentations are informative, entertaining and inspiring. In his leisure time, Rob enjoys golf, riding his motorcycle and occasionally lacing up his skates for another chance to relive his past glory on the rink. He spends the majority of his free time with his wife, Parrish, and their two Yorkshire terriers, Pooshie and Tala.

Anime Boston is proud two announce two Japanese Guests of Honor today: Screenwriter Dai Sato and seiyuu Yuu Asagawa!

Dai Sato started his career as a TV script writer/program planner and a lyricist at the age of 19, and later ventured into the video game and music industries. Today, he is first and foremost an animation scriptwriter, with side projects creating scripts and concepts for various media. In 2007 he created Storyriders Inc., Ltd. of which he is the president and CEO.

Yuu Asakawa is a Japanese seiyuu (or voice actress). Yuu is the voice of Crypton Future Media’s Vocaloid, Megurine Luka, providing all her vocal samples. Yuu is also the co-host of the Internet web show Otaku Verse Zero, alongside Otaku USA editor-in-chief Patrick Macias.

A talented veteran voice actress, Yuu has been performing for over seventeen years for some of the most popular anime and video games. Among her many roles in anime are Motoko Aoyama from Love Hina, Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh, Rider from Fate/stay night, Yuuki Mitani from Hikaru no Go, and Jura Basil Elden from Vandread. Yuu’s video games roles include Lebreau from the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, Eime in Baten Kaitos, Nel Zelpher in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, and various characters for the Super Robot Wars franchise of games.

About Anime Boston:
Anime Boston is an annual three-day Japanese animation convention held in Boston, Mass. Anime Boston 2014 is scheduled for Friday, March 21 through Sunday, March 23 at the Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton Boston Hotel. More information about Anime Boston can be found at www.animeboston.com.

About New England Anime Society:
The New England Anime Society was founded in 2001. Based in Massachusetts, The New England Anime Society, Inc. is an organization dedicated to furthering public education and understanding of the Japanese language and culture through visual and written media. More information about The New England Anime Society is available at www.neanime.org.

Anime Boston is proud to announce five new Guests of Honor for the 2014 convention! Please join us in welcoming Wendee Lee, Kyle Hebert, Cristina Vee, Patrick Seitz, and Tom Wayland!

Wendee Lee is an American voice actress. While she has done voice work for many video games as well as several episodes in the Power Rangers franchise, she is particularly known in anime. With 240 credits to her name, she is one of the most prolific English voice-over actresses in history.

Cristina Vee is a voice actress from Los Angeles, CA. Since getting her first large anime roles in 2007, Cristina has voiced over 100 characters in both animation and video games. Anime fans know her Mio Akiyama in K-ON!, Alisa Bosconovitch in Tekken Blood Vengeance, Homura Akemi in Madoka Magica, Louise in The Familiar of Zero, and Morgiana in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, to name a few.

Patrick Seitz’s anime roles include Franky in One Piece, Sky High in Tiger & Bunny, Germany in Hetalia, Agil in Sword Art Online, Senji in Deadman Wonderland, Simon in Durarara, Laxus in Fairy Tail, Sloth in FMA: Brotherhood, JP in Redline, Agni in Black Butler, Motochika Chosokabe in Sengoku Basara, Nekozawa in Ouran High School Host Club, Isshin Kurosaki in Bleach, and Grimmer in Monster.

Tom Wayland is proud to have made a long and successful career out of his most favorite things – acting, directing, and making raucous, loud rock and roll music. Tom has produced and/or directed hundreds of anime programs such as Now & Then, Here & There, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Alien Nine, The World of Narue, Ichi the Killer, Mew Mew Power, Magical Do Re Mi, GI Joe, and currently serves as the voice director on the hit series Pokemon.

About Anime Boston:
Anime Boston is an annual three-day Japanese animation convention held in Boston, Mass. Anime Boston 2014 is scheduled for Friday, March 21 through Sunday, March 23 at the Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton Boston Hotel. More information about Anime Boston can be found at www.animeboston.com.

About New England Anime Society:
The New England Anime Society was founded in 2001. Based in Massachusetts, The New England Anime Society, Inc. is an organization dedicated to furthering public education and understanding of the Japanese language and culture through visual and written media. More information about The New England Anime Society is available at www.neanime.org.

The world-famous Hollywood Improv is proud to invite you to join Emmy and Annie award winner Rob Paulsen as he talks about his experiences in voice acting!

About Rob Paulsen:
Born in Detroit, Rob Paulsen spent his childhood in Livonia and Rochester, attending Junior and Senior high school in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Rob loved cartoons like most kids but aspired to be a professional hockey player. “Fortunately, thanks to some big, strong, kid from Winnipeg who drilled me so hard my ears are still ringing, I learned around age 18 I had neither the talent nor the temperament to make a living playing hockey. So, I turned to my other passions: singing and acting.”

The goal of bringing absolute believability to a fictional character, live-action or animated, is what every actor strives for. Those who are committed to their career and who combine experience, passion and skill are likely to succeed.

Those gifted with exceptional talent who focus on maximizing their potential by finding their own niche, quickly break away from the pack. After years of honing their craft and consistently delivering memorable performances in which the character impacts an indelible image on the viewer, the public and the industry take notice, singling out the best.

“I’m getting paid to do what I got in trouble for in the 7th grade,” jests Rob, who won a Daytime Emmy in 1999 as “Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program” for Pinky and The Brain (Warner Bros.) Though nominated twice previously, the victory was especially sweet due to some formidable competition – fellow nominees Louie Anderson, Ernest Borgnine, Dennis Franz and Jeffery Tambor. In addition to his Emmy, Rob won back-to-back Annie Awards in 1997 and 1998. “I absolutely love what I do and thank my lucky stars for twenty-five years of full-time employment in this business,” he says.

“It’s a treat to portray a complex character,” Rob explains about Pinky, a goof-ball mouse with funny teeth, a head filled with clouds and an inane imagination that is punctuated with a staccato laugh. “Besides … where else could I find a job where emotional outbursts and odd exclamations like ‘Egad!,’ ‘Narf!,’ ‘Poit!,’ ‘Splonk!,’ and ‘Zort!’ are allowed and in fact, encouraged?” With over 2,000 half-hours of animation to his credit, Rob’s versatility shines in his starring roles as the voices of Yakko, Pinky and Dr. Scratch ‘n’ Sniff in the Peabody and two-time Emmy award-winning series “Animaniacs.”

Some of Rob’s other well-known animated characters include Raphael of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Arthur in “The Tick,” the title role in “The Mask” (for a WHOLE lot less dough than Mr. Carrey, thank you), the title role in “Mighty Max,” Carl Wheezer in “Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius,” Jack Fenton in “Danny Phantom,” Bobble in the “Tinkerbell” series of DVDs and hopefully more to come.

Paulsen’s extensive credits include on-camera roles in numerous motion pictures including Body Double, Stewardess School, Eyes of Fire, The Perfect Match, and Warlocked. His television acting credits include guest-starring roles on MacGyver and St. Elsewhere. Additionally, he is one of the most sought-after voice actors in the commercial arena, performing in over 1000 commercial spots.

As passionate about “paying it forward” as he is about his lucrative career, Rob supports various charitable organizations, particularly those benefiting children and military veterans. Rob’s volunteer work with GOALmodels has been particularly rewarding. GOALmodels, a high school program in Reseda, California, is designed to inspire 9th graders to set goals and overcome obstacles in life. Blending his life experiences with passion for his work, his presentations are informative, entertaining and inspiring. In his leisure time, Rob enjoys golf, riding his motorcycle and occasionally lacing up his skates for another chance to relive his past glory on the rink. He spends the majority of his free time with his wife, Parrish, and their two Yorkshire terriers, Pooshie and Tala.